AI Videos, Cyberattacks, TikTok, Rivian, and Aquifers
Weekly Roundup of AI, Technology, and UX
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Here’s the latest news, resources, and use cases from the world of product, UX, AI and technology. Let’s go:
🎥 AI Video Creation
🛜 Cyberattacks
🤳 TikTok
🚙 Rivian
👩⚕️ Agency
🚰 Aquifers
Podcast
Navigating the AI Revolution in Video Creation: A Deep Dive with Vikram Chalana
In this episode, I interview Vikram Chalana, the founder behind Pictory, an innovative AI video creation tool for content marketers. With a deep background in technology and entrepreneurship, Chalana shares his journey from building a startup in his garage to leading a groundbreaking AI venture. Together, we delve into the evolution of content creation, emphasizing the shift towards video and the role of AI in enhancing productivity and storytelling, including Pictory's mission to democratize video creation, allowing professionals across various fields to craft compelling narratives without the need for complex tools. We also discuss the broader implications of AI in business and society, including the challenges and opportunities it presents.
News and Useful Reads
With Cyberattack Fix Weeks Away, Health Providers Slam United
In one of the worst cyberattacks to date, Change Healthcare, owned by United Healthcare, was infiltrated by hackers. United paid $22 million in ransom, but the fallout has continued. Change reimburses healthcare providers, so doctors and pharmacies aren’t getting paid.
The depth of the cyberattack, which paralyzed billings and payments from the simplest prescriptions at a drugstore to the most expensive surgeries, has rattled the industry and government. Some have expressed concerns that the worst is far from over, fearing that the ransomware attack compromised patient data.
The clock may be going ticktock on TikTok
The stupidity of the United States government continues to show that it knows no bounds.
A congressional committee voted unanimously on Thursday to advance a bill to the House that would be tantamount to a ban on TikTok, jeopardizing the future of the app used by 170 million Americans.
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Rivian R2, R3, and R3X launch event: the EV company’s more affordable SUVs are here
I haven’t been paying much attention to Rivian, but these new SUVs are pretty impressive, both in looks and pricing. The EV market is heating up, and I’m here for it (until we can get away from cars entirely).
For years, Rivian has been promising to make a smaller, more affordable electric SUV that will sit alongside its pricier R1T and R1S vehicles, and that day is finally here. The company revealed the R2 in a livestreamed event from Laguna Beach.
How to Be More Agentic
Taking control of our lives and situations is partly intelligence and partly the belief that it can be done, as this author explores. We don’t have to allow others to dictate what we can and can’t do.
It’s hard to overstate how overpowered feedback is. If you aren’t trying to get real feedback from people who know you, you’re cooking without tasting. This is among the lowest-hanging fruit for self-improvement, but few people really try to pick it.
Other Interesting Finds
Solar-Powered Farming Is Quickly Depleting the World's Groundwater Supply
As my wife and I were walking the dogs this weekend, we were discussing snowpack in Utah. Utah relies on winter snow for its water supply, but the western United States does an incredibly poor job at managing its water supply, which is quickly depleting. And I was also thinking about how we’re doing the same thing to our aquifers in other regions, as this article discusses.
Rivers are being emptied, and new investment has dried up. So in the past three decades, hundreds of millions of farmers in hot arid regions, from Mexico to the Middle East and South Asia, have switched to getting their water from underground.
Boreholes sunk into porous water-holding rocks now provide 43 percent of the world’s irrigation water, according to a study last year by the World Bank. Irrigation is responsible for around 70 percent of the global underground water withdrawals, which are estimated at more than 200 cubic miles per year. This exceeds recharge from rainfall by nearly 70 cubic miles per year.